White Americans, usually those who lived on the frontier, often feared and resented the Native Americans. The whites were expanding and felt as though they could acquirer any land they desired including the land that the Native Americans were inhabiting. The president of the United States at the time fully agreed with these white Americans. Andrew Jackson was a strong supporter of the idea of "Indian Removal". While Jackson was an army general he spent many years crusading the Indians and that continued in his presidency. The trail of tears was a result of the Indian Removal Act which was signed by Andrew Jackson in 1830. This act gave the federal government the power to exchange Native land east of the Mississippi for land to the west known as the "Indian colonization zone", which was located in Oklahoma. This power would result in the Trail of Tears to occur.
The Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was a continuation of the Indian removal process. In 1836 the Trail of Tears began when the United States federal government forced 15,000 Creeks west towards Oklahoma. Out of this 15,000 about 3,500 did not survive.The Creeks were not the only tribe effected. The Cherokees were also eventually driven out of their lands as well. In 1838 the Cherokees were forced 1,200 miles to what was known as Indian territory. It is estimated that 5,000 of them died in result of this journey. The Trail of Tears essentially got its name based on the horrific journey that the Indians endured. The Native Americans experienced hunger, disease, exhaustion, and death along this trail which as you could imagine led to tears.
What does the Trail of Tears say about our culture at the time?
It is clear that during the time of the frontier and westward movement the U.S felt superior to the Native Americans. They felt as though they deserved the lands in which the Indians were inhabiting. This idea connects to "manifest destiny", which was the idea that the U.S. was destined to acquire these lands. This shows that our culture during this time period was not open to including Indians in American society. They felt threatened by them and looked at them as aliens. They believed that the only way to successfully get what they wanted was to completely remove the Indians and take full control over them as if they were not even human beings. White Americans did evil things to the Indians such as killing and stealing from them in order to get what they wanted.
How did the Trail of Tears effect the frontier and westward movement?
The Trail of Tears effected westward movement because it was essentially a part of the United States "success"in taking over and expanding in the west. The main goal of the U.S was to gain as much land as possible and they did that by taking land from the Native Americans. The U.S used the Native Americans as tools to achieving their success. The Trail of Tears says a lot about who our nation was during the the time of the frontier and westward movement. It demonstrates the measures that the United States went to in order to accomplish their goals.
Trail of Tears
Background
White Americans, usually those who lived on the frontier, often feared and resented the Native Americans. The whites were expanding and felt as though they could acquirer any land they desired including the land that the Native Americans were inhabiting. The president of the United States at the time fully agreed with these white Americans. Andrew Jackson was a strong supporter of the idea of "Indian Removal". While Jackson was an army general he spent many years crusading the Indians and that continued in his presidency. The trail of tears was a result of the Indian Removal Act which was signed by Andrew Jackson in 1830. This act gave the federal government the power to exchange Native land east of the Mississippi for land to the west known as the "Indian colonization zone", which was located in Oklahoma. This power would result in the Trail of Tears to occur.
The Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was a continuation of the Indian removal process. In 1836 the Trail of Tears began when the United States federal government forced 15,000 Creeks west towards Oklahoma. Out of this 15,000 about 3,500 did not survive.The Creeks were not the only tribe effected. The Cherokees were also eventually driven out of their lands as well. In 1838 the Cherokees were forced 1,200 miles to what was known as Indian territory. It is estimated that 5,000 of them died in result of this journey. The Trail of Tears essentially got its name based on the horrific journey that the Indians endured. The Native Americans experienced hunger, disease, exhaustion, and death along this trail which as you could imagine led to tears.
What does the Trail of Tears say about our culture at the time?
It is clear that during the time of the frontier and westward movement the U.S felt superior to the Native Americans. They felt as though they deserved the lands in which the Indians were inhabiting. This idea connects to "manifest destiny", which was the idea that the U.S. was destined to acquire these lands. This shows that our culture during this time period was not open to including Indians in American society. They felt threatened by them and looked at them as aliens. They believed that the only way to successfully get what they wanted was to completely remove the Indians and take full control over them as if they were not even human beings. White Americans did evil things to the Indians such as killing and stealing from them in order to get what they wanted.How did the Trail of Tears effect the frontier and westward movement?
The Trail of Tears effected westward movement because it was essentially a part of the United States "success"in taking over and expanding in the west. The main goal of the U.S was to gain as much land as possible and they did that by taking land from the Native Americans. The U.S used the Native Americans as tools to achieving their success. The Trail of Tears says a lot about who our nation was during the the time of the frontier and westward movement. It demonstrates the measures that the United States went to in order to accomplish their goals.